Your chance to win tickets to see Matt Cardle

A WEST Country man, whose brother was awarded the George Cross for his bravery while serving in Afghanistan, will put on a huge fundraising bash in aid of two armed forces charities.

X Factor winner Matt Cardle will headline the concert on September 6, which is being put on by Keep Calm Events and aims to raise £10,000 each for Help for Heroes and Invisible Injuries.

Keep Calm Events is the brainchild of Paul Hughes and Steve Mitchell, a musician and former soldier also from Weston.

Paul (33) has three brothers serving in the Royal Logistics Corp. Kim, aged 35, is a high-threat improvised explosive device (IED) disposal expert and in 2010 was awarded the George Cross.

This was following an incident in Afghanistan in 2009 which saw him and his team tasked with extracting four casualties and the bodies of two soldiers killed by an IED.

During the operation he discovered three further devices and managed to disarm them amid gunfire before reaching the casualties and fallen comrades.

Steve, aged 39, served in the 1st Battalion Light Infantry from 1993-1999 and, among his day jobs, is now a therapist working for Invisible Injuries, a charity which supports those returning from conflicts with psychological scars.

Paul said: “Steve and I wanted to put on an even bigger event and to secure Matt Cardle as the headline is great news for us.

“This event is our way of saying thank you to all members of the armed forces.”

As well as Matt Cardle, who won the X Factor in 2011 and recently released his third album, also on the line-up is former SClub7 member and star of the Jersey Boys, Jon Lee, plus the Military Wives Choir and Sarah Eden Winn from Weston who was featured in the latest BBC series of The Voice. There will also a beer festival, fairground rides and other attractions.

The event will be held at The Hand Stadium in Clevedon, Somerset, and will run from noon until 10pm.

Tickets, priced £10-15, are available now online at www.keepcalmevents.co.uk

Any businesses interested being a sponsor for the event should email info@keepcalmevents.co.uk

■ The Exmouth Journal has teamed up with Keep Calm Events to offer readers the chance to win a pair of tickets to the show.

To be in with a chance of winning simply answer this question: What is the name of The Voice contestant who will perform as part of the event?